The rapper recalled the furor of his heavy metal band Body Count’s 1992 protest song ‘Cop Killer’
Ice-T‘s advice to musicians who want to say something controversial? Stand by what you really mean and lawyer up.
Ahead of his heavy metal band Body Count’s forthcoming album Merciless, the 66-year-old rapper answered fan-submitted questions from The Guardian. One person asked about the band’s 1992 protest song “Cop Killer” and if he felt the “heat” and regretted releasing it.
“I never really questioned myself, but the heat came when they started sending bomb threats to Warner Bros. I threw the rock, that’s my heat,” Ice-T explained. “But when other people could get hurt, that’s nerve-racking.”
“But I got news for people: Anybody that thinks controversy is a way to make money, it’s not. You get a lot of buzz, but now you need lawyers,” he continued. “So don’t just say something stupid and then back-pedal — if you’re going to say something, stand on it.”